Scared Into Love
by flaming ice 15
Summary: AU. Levy is terrified of the fierce looking Gajeel who watches her every morning...but is he as scary as he seems?
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I do not own Fairy Tail.

R&R please!

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><p>The birds chirped quietly outside my bedroom window as I woke to my beeping alarm.<p>

"Ugh…" I grunted as I dragged myself out of bed and into the bathroom to shower.

I let the water run down my body, removing all traces of a rough night. I tossed and turned all night from a reoccurring nightmare. The nightmare started off normally, me walking home from school, but then I am pushed down from the back by unknown hands. The hands soon begin ripping my clothes off. That's where I always wake up. _"Why am I having such scary and odd nightmares?"_ I thought as I stepped out of the shower and began drying my dripping wet body.

I quickly blow dried my hair, towel still wrapped around my body. I styled my blue hair like normal, it in a messy manner and my orange headband holding it all back. I quickly tossed the towel and threw on my bra and panties. I put on my short and tight black dress with the school emblem embroidered on my left breast. I pulled up my knee high black socks, but my black boots on, grabbed my bag, and ran out my apartment door with a piece of bread between my teeth.

As I rounded a corner, I spotted them. They were there every morning, smoking. They had piercings and were always cussing. They scared me, but I didn't show it. I never quickened my pace or put my head down. That would show fear. I kept my head held high and walked like any other normal time.

From time to time, I would sneak glances in their direction, only to find one of their eyes on me. It was always the tall one, with the same school uniform as me. He had piercings along his eyes, ears, and nose and had long, spiky, black hair that fell to his hips. He always watched me, morning and night. They were here on my way to school, and from school. I found him the scariest, seeing as how his eyes were always on me.

Our eyes met for a second before I dropped my head and continued walking. I could hear him chuckling softly and his friends asking him what was so funny before I rounded the corner and out of earshot.

I could see the school just ahead of me. Its brown oak door's glistening in the morning sunlight. I smiled as I saw a familiar blonde head bobbing up the schools steps.

"Lu-chan!" I shouted, running up to her.

"Morning, Levy!" Lucy Heartfillia said in response once I reached her on the steps. "Ready for the new semester?" She asked, resuming her walk up the steps.

"Yep! How about you?" I replied eagerly. I loved this school. Fairy Tail Academy had a good academics program and a good sports program. It had something for everyone who attended. My favorite was the extravagant library located in the west wing of the Academy.

"I wasn't ready to wake up, that's for sure." She replied with a yawn.

We walked down the hall to pick up our new schedules, since classes change at the beginning of a new semester. Lucy picked hers up and I soon followed suit.

"What do you have first?" She asked, looking over my shoulder at the schedule I had in my hand.

"Hmm…" I hummed looking over my schedule. "I have Government, English, Chemistry, Free Period, Lunch, Trigonometry, and Study Hall. You?"

"I have the same Lunch as you and that's it." She sighed.

"Aww…maybe next year?" I added reassuringly.

"Yeah! Ahh! I got to go! See you later!" She yelled over her shoulder as she bounded down the hallway.

I walked quickly down the hallway towards my first period class. The library would have to wait. I couldn't wait until my free period and my study hall. I could sit in a room full of books. The way the books smelled of leather and trees calmed me and made me feel less nervous and on edge.

I walked into the classroom, glanced at the seating chart the teacher had in the front of the room, and took my seat near the back. I began writing in my journal that I always kept with me.

Right as the bell rang, a person sat next to me. I glanced up from my journal briefly only to find a flash of metal. _"No…It can't be…can it?" _I thought, looking up from my freshly written words to the man next to me. He had long black hair and piercings along his eyes, ears, and nose. My eyes widened in shock and I quickly looked back down. _"He doesn't recognize me does he? I really hope he doesn't! Please don't realize who I am..!"_ I thought.

"Hey," He whispered, "Do I know you?"

"No!" I whispered back a little too quickly. "I've never met you before." _"Shit! He knows! He knows!"_ I thought.

"Are you sure?" He whispered back.

"Yes!" I hissed in response.

He sat quietly after that. When the bell finally rang for releasing first period, I quickly moved out of my seat and out the door before he had a chance to stand. _"This is bad." _I thought. _"He realizes it's me…" _Hopefully second period would be better.

No such luck. He sat next to me during second hour, third hour, and also had a free period at the same time as me. At lunch I quickly found Lucy.

"Lu-chan!" I shouted across the cafeteria, finding her sitting at a table with the rest of our friends.

I quickly ran up to them, on the verge of tears. "Hello, Levy! What's wrong?" Erza Scarlet stated, her voice going from cheery to serious. I sat in the chair across from Erza and next to Mirajane and Lucy.

"You know the group of people I pass every morning and afternoon?" I said. They nodded in response. "One of the members, the really scary one with all the piercings, is in all of my classes, and above all else, he recognizes me!" I wailed, the tears spilling over.

"It's okay, Levy." Mirajane cooed, comforting me.

"Juvia thinks it is okay! Levy needs to be strong!" Juvia encouraged.

"How am I going to face him? He scares the living daylights out of me! I don't know why, but my gut just tells me to be scared of him, yet my heart says to trust him…I'm so confused and scared!" I cried; tears continued to fall down my face as Mira stroked my back softly.

"The bell is about to ring. If you don't feel like going to class, go to the nurses' office." Erza added gently as she and everyone else picked up their things and headed off.

"I'll call you later." Lucy said as she too, disappeared behind the cafeteria doors.

I sighed, silenced my sobs and walked to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror only to find my eyes swollen and red. I dabbed some make-up around the red areas to make it look like I hadn't been crying. I quickly packed up my things and hurried off to my fifth period class.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I don't own Fairy Tail.

This chapter gave me lots of trouble...

R&R please!

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><p>I sat down right as the bell rang. As luck would have it, the pierced man sat next to me. Again. I sighed. <em>"This is going to be a long semester." <em>I thought. I had every class with him and none with my friends. _"What great luck, right?"_

"Now, for the rest of class, I want you to get to know the people around you. Turn in a two page paper about him or her due tomorrow. I will now read the names of your partners." The teacher said sounding bored as hell. I don't blame him. First days like this are always boring.

"…Gajeel Redfox and Levy McGarden…" The teacher droned.

My jaw dropped as the pierced man next to me turned and grunted, "So you're Levy? I'm Gajeel."

"H-hello…" I stammered. _"Dammitdammitdammit! Fuck my life!"_ I thought angrily.

"Wait…aren't you the girl who I see every morning and afternoon? You're the girl! I knew I recognized you." He said triumphantly. "W-why are you crying?"

"Huh?" I said, feeling my cheeks, and sure enough, they were wet. "I-I'm sorry…I-I don't know what's w-wrong with m-me today." I stuttered between sobs. I clutched at my arms, trying to stop the shaking.

Gajeel reached across the table and tried to comfort me. "Don't touch me!" I flinched. Fear traced my words. I suddenly recalled my nightmare and began shaking and sobbing harder.

"Teacher." Gajeel said standing and scooping me up into his arms. I was too shocked to speak. "I'm taking her to the nurse." The teacher nodded and let us leave.

"Put me down!" I shrieked in the empty hallways.

"No." He stated bluntly.

"Please…" I pleaded. My voice was barely a whisper. "Please put me down, Gajeel."

He set me down next to a wall. I leaned against it and slowly slid down it. Sobs continued to shake my body.

Gajeel was silent for a long time and it shocked me when he said, "What's wrong?"

I sighed. _"Should I tell him?" _I thought. _"Sure. Why the hell not?" _

"Every morning and afternoon, I pass you on my way to and from school." I said quietly, my voice barely a whisper. "To tell you the truth, I'm terrified of you and everyone else that's with you. This morning I glanced over and saw you with the others. Your eyes locked on mine and I've been scared the rest of the day. It also doesn't help that I haven't been sleeping or eating enough…" I trailed off. Gajeel was silent.

"What the hell?" He muttered as I slowly stood from where I was sitting. His back was to me.

Suddenly, he whipped around and placed a hand on the wall beside my head on either side, trapping me. I felt my heartbeat quicken and my eyes go wide in fear. Gajeel slowly took his thumb and gently wiped away a stray tear from my cheek. I flinched at the contact of our skin.

He growled and moved away from me muttering under his breath. The bell rang then and he stormed off, leaving me standing there. _"What was that..?" _I thought as I hurried off to my next class.

Surprisingly enough, Gajeel wasn't in my Study Hall. The rest of the class passed silently as I found some comfort in the books inside the library, surrounded by their sent.

As I walked home, I feared the thought of having to see Gajeel again on my way home. I dreaded having to round the corner and see him standing there, smoking, and chatting away with his friends.

I took a deep breath before rounding the corner. There he was. Like always. But this time, I needed to speak with him about the paper that was due tomorrow. I continued walking like normal until he was straight ahead of me, across the street. I gulped, took another deep breath, and crossed the street. Gajeel looked up to see me walking towards him, and his eyes widened.

I continued to focus on my breathing as I neared him. _"In, out, in, out…" _I thought. It calmed my nerves a little. Once across the street, I took yet another deep breath and squeaked, "Gajeel, I need to speak with you."

The people loitering around snickered at my comment and were saying things like, "Who does she think she is?" and "What's up with this chick?"

"What do you want, Levy?" He asked.

"W-we need to w-work on our p-paper for tomorrow." I stuttered.

"Right." He sighed running a hand through his long black hair. He pushed through the people sitting around him and said, "Follow me."

"Coming." I said, following a few meters behind him.

A few minutes passed in silence. _"He must be mad at me…WAIT! Why do I care? I'm scared of him!" _I thought. I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice a hand clamp over my mouth and someone dragging me away.

"Mmmph!" I grunted. The man just kept dragging me away and into an alley.

Oh no! My dream! This resembled my dream too well! _"Someone help me!" _I screamed in my head.

The man had dragged me into an alley where no one could see us. "Hehheh…now just be a good girl and be quiet." He said, holding a knife to my throat. He removed his hand, but I didn't dare make a sound.

He began tearing at my uniform, ripping it to shreds and leaving me standing there in only my bra and panties. _"Oh my god! He's going to rape me! Someone save me!"_ I thought feeling fresh hot tears fall down my face.

"Don't you dare touch her!" I heard someone say from somewhere in the shadows.

"W-who's there?" The man holding the knife stuttered as fear traced his features.

"H-help…me…" I squeaked before I felt a sharp pain in my neck.

"I said be quiet." He snapped, momentarily forgetting about the voice in the shadows.

"AAAAGGHHH!" I screamed as he pressed the knife into my neck even harder. Tears continued rolling down my face in a steady stream.

"DON'T TOUCH HER YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Gajeel screamed as he leapt from the shadows and landed on top of the man, taking his knife and slashing at him. I was on the ground, clutching at my throat. It felt wet and sticky.

"Don't…kill…him…Ga…jeel…" I muttered with my last ounce of strength. It hurt too much to speak.

"Levy!" Gajeel said, his voice full of concern. It was the last thing I heard before everything turned black and my body went limp in his arms.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: I do not own Fairy Tail.

R&R please!

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><p>My neck ached and I was cold. I was lying in a big, warm, soft bed with a thin gray sheet thrown over my body. I shivered under the thin sheet as the cold seeped in through them.<p>

I tried to sit up, but found it incredibly painful when I twisted my neck. I gave up and decided to just lie there quietly.

"So you're awake." A deep voice said from somewhere beyond the bed. I flinched at the sound.

"W-where am I? W-who are you?" I asked, shaking from the cold, my teeth chattering.

"Don't worry; it's just me, Gajeel. You're in my house." He spoke softly and gently. "You had a deep gash on your neck. That little fucker…" He growled.

"Oh…" I sighed. I tried to sit up again, only to be met by more pain in my neck. "Ow!" I clutched at the wound. I felt bandages over where the pain generated.

"Don't move." Gajeel commanded walking ove

r to where I lay. He reached a hand out to help me up. I froze. He removed his hands immediately. "Sorry…" He muttered under his breath.

"How did I end up here?" I croaked. It still hurt to speak.

"You were following me. When I turned around, you were gone. I had heard a grunt of some sort before I turned around, but I thought nothing of it. I figured you'd just gotten lost so I went back to find you." He explained. The bed sagged as he sat on the end. "I heard the man speaking to you and followed the sound. When I caught sight of him, you were stripped down to your underwear and tears were rolling down your cheeks." He paused.

"Thank you for saving me." I squeaked. "You're not as scary as I thought you were." I smiled at weight at the end of the bed. "But you're still scary."

"Whatever. I just didn't want-" Gajeel stopped mid sentence when he turned to look at me. "W-why are you crying?" Concern traced his words.

"I-I w-was s-s-so s-scared!" I sobbed. I was cold, scared, and hurt. I allowed the sobs to shake my body. My throat ached from the sobs but I just didn't care. "Agh…" I moaned in pain.

In a flash, Gajeel had swept me out of the bed. He held me close to his chest and I sobbed into it. He gently smoothed out my blue hair, murmuring comforting words. He smelled of iron and was warm. It just felt so right to be near him. _"What is wrong with me?"_ I thought as I continued to hold me until I had calmed. Once calmed, he set me down in front of him. He ran a hand through his hair. "Let's work on the paper." He said turning away from me.

"Oh…right." I had completely forgotten about the assignment due the next day. It was the sole reason all of this had happened in the first place.

"But first," He said tossing me a jacket. "Put that on." He mumbled, a blush etching its way across his features.

I looked down only to find myself in my bra and panties. "Eep!" I squeaked. I quickly threw on the jacket, a blush finding its way onto my own face. "Thanks." I whispered.

We silently worked on the paper, writing down things about each other. I knew enough about him to easily fill the required two pages. He was scary, dangerous, had a bad personality, and was cruel. He smelled of iron and was warm. Even though he had a foul mouth, he had a soft side to him. I smiled to myself, remembering how he held me as I wept. _"He was so warm…"_ I thought. _"I just want to curl up next to that warmth…Wait. WHAT? What am I saying? I'm freaking scared of him…right?"_

_"But he saved you…" _A voice chided in my head.

_"But he's scary." _I contradicted.

_"He held you as you cried and you liked it. Don't pretend you didn't love it." _The voice taunted.

_"Look at him though! He's covered in piercings and has a horrid attitude!" _I explained.

_"You like him!" _The voice shouted. It rang loud and clear in my head.

_"NO! I don't! I don't like him! He scares me!" _I shrieked back.

_"Looks like someone's in denial." _It scolded.

"NO!" I shouted. "OW!" I clutched at my throat.

Gajeel nearly fell out of his chair at the sudden out burst. "Jesus Chris Levy! Don't do that!"

"Sorry." I croaked weakly. My throat was throbbing. There's no way I could like him with his anger flaring up.

I stood from where I sat in his kitchen and whispered, "I should be leaving." Damn. I let the fear out in my voice. A sad smile played on my lips. I felt tears wanting to spill over, but I held them back. _"I'm just a nuisance to him."_ I thought.

I began making my way towards the door in his apartment, when something caught my wrist. I felt the first tear find its way down my cheek.

"Please don't leave." He said so soft it was barely a whisper. "I have anger issues an

d a bad attitude. I don't know how to be kind or gentle. But something within me tells me to keep you safe and watch over you."

The tears began spilling over as he said those words. _"Oh god…" _I thought as I slowly turned to face him. He wore a serious expression.

"Why do I always make you cry!" He roared. Tears began falling faster down my face as he roared and flailed, knocking over chairs and tables.

"Gajeel…" I whispered as loud as I could. It hurt like hell to speak at even this volume. He seemed to sense that I wanted his attention. "I'm not crying out of fear." I whimpered. "I'm crying for an entirely different reason."

His expression turned curious and shocked as I turned to leave his apartment, the tears falling harder and faster. _"Damn that voice. It was right. I'm slowly being scared into love."_ I thought bitterly as I hurried away to my own apartment.

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><p>Sorry if this was so confusing...this chapter gave me trouble...<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: I do not own Fairy Tail.

R&R please!

* * *

><p>I hurried away from Gajeel's apartment and headed to my own apartment, tears streaming down my face as I ran. I climbed the stairs to my third floor apartment and quickly turned the knob and shut the door behind me. I slid down the door and let the sobs shake my body, my throat aching.<p>

After I had calmed a bit, I stood slowly, my head aching from all the crying. I realized just how tired I really was as I slogged over and pulled my pajamas out from the drawer. I realized I still had Gajeel's jacket on. _"I'll give it back to him tomorrow." _I thought. I just wanted to sleep for now.

I slipped Gajeel's jacket off and put on my own pajamas. I was cold without the jacket on. It smelled the same as him: iron. The sent lingered on my own body when I climbed into bed, clutching the jacket to my chest. _"I think I'm in love with you…"_ I thought.

"Yawn…" I yawned as my beeping alarm woke me from the best sleep I had had in weeks. "No nightmare." I whispered as I stretched, my bones popping into place.

I slid out from the comfort of my bed, still clutching to Gajeel's jacket. "You probably scared all the nightmares away." I murmured as I stepped into the bathroom for my morning shower.

In the shower, I had time to think. As the water ran down my skin, washing away Gajeel's sent, I realized that every morning I passed him on the way to school; I was always looking at him. It had become such a habit that I just hadn't noticed. There was something about him that I was just drawn to. Yes, he was dangerous and I was still scared of him, but there was something I was just drawn to within him.

When he saved me yesterday, I felt that feeling of being drawn to him increase dramatically. Being forced to talk and work with him scared me terribly yesterday, yet now, I don't find it as terrifying.

I reached up to my neck and felt the wound already beginning to scab over and heal. It would probably leave a scar. I sighed at the thought. On that depressing note, I decided it was time to end the shower and get ready for school.

I hopped out and slipped on my bra and panties. It's a good thing everyone got a second set of the uniform since my first one had been ripped to shreds. I slipped on the black dress, pulled up my knee socks, and put on my boots. I grabbed my bag, Gajeel's jacket, and ran out the door with bread between my teeth.

As I rounded the corner to where I would soon meet Gajeel and his gang, I took a deep breath and continued my walk. When I noticed he wasn't there, only his gang members, I sighed in disappointment and continued my walk to school.

After a few minutes of walking, I soon saw the grand oak doors of Fairy Tail Academy gleaming brightly in the morning sun. I quickened my pace as I saw a familiar blonde head bobbing up the steps.

"Lucy!" I called. "Agh…" I grunted. _"Damn. Still hurts to talk loud like that." _I thought as I caught up with my friend.

"Morning, Levy!" She greeted smiling cheerfully at me.

"Well, I got to go! I'll talk to you at lunch!" I said dashing off towards the library before first period began. I wanted to soak in the sent of the books I so dearly missed and cherished.

As I hurried through the doors to first period right as the bell rang, I noticed that Gajeel wasn't in his seat. _"He's not here…"_ I thought. I still had his jacket. It was stashed away in my brown bag I always kept with me. _"I guess I'll have to give it to him after school…"_ I thought. The thought scared me of showing up at his apartment and him screaming at me to scram and never appear before him again.

School was relatively uneventful the rest of the day. Lucy and Juvia sat with Natsu and Gray during lunch, and I decided to go to the library yet again. Gajeel was absent the whole day.

At the end of school, I hurried off towards Gajeel's apartment. I never forgot where anything was once I had seen it. I had a photographic memory and remembered almost everything I've ever seen, read, or heard.

I sprinted a good length of the way there until I had the building in my sight and had slowed to a steady walk. _"I'm just coming to return the jacket, nothing else." _I told myself as I knocked on his door.

"What?" He growled throwing open the door.

"Ohh…um…I-I just came here to return this." I stammered holding up his freshly washed jacket.

"Thanks…" He muttered taking the jacket from my hands.

"So," I started. "Why weren't you at school? Ahh, sorry! You don't have to answer if you don't want to…" I trailed off, a blush spreading across my face.

"Why do you care? Aren't you scared of me?" He spat.

"S-sorry, I won't ask again. Good bye." I whispered, turning away from the open door.

"Wait!" He called after me, grabbing my wrist. I slowly turned around. "Why were you crying yesterday?" He asked, his voice taking on a more gentle tone.

"I-I…w-well…" I stammered the blush already on my face turning a deeper shade of red. "I…you…" I murmured my voice barely audible.

"What was that?" He asked, leaning closer to me.

"I…with…you…" I whispered a bit louder.

"Spit it out! I can't hear you!" He growled. He was growing impatient.

"I THINK I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU!" I yelled as loud as I could. "Agh…" I clutched at my throat. My face turned a lovely shade of crimson like the setting sun.

"W-what?" He stammered his voice in utter shock.

"Right, I'm probably bothering you! Forget I said anything!" I whispered, tears already making there way down my face.

I didn't have the chance to leave. Gajeel yanked on my wrist and his lips were on mine. I was so shocked I didn't understand what was happening until he started to pull me closer to him, his arms wrapping around me, holding me to him, and I fell into the kiss, tangling my hands in his hair and pulling us closer.

He lifted me up and moved me across the threshold and closing the door behind him, never breaking the kiss. His tongue licked my lips, asking for entry and I eagerly opened my mouth, his tongue exploring and licking my teeth and forcefully massaging my own tongue. "I love you." He murmured against my lips. A small moan escaped my lips and a growl escaped from him. The kiss broke with both of us gasping for air.

"I love you, Levy." He repeated staring at me with a serious gaze. "I've probably loved you since the first time I saw you walking past me. I watched you every morning. You were so cute, how you tried to hide your fear." His confession caught me off guard, but I smiled back at him.

"I was terrified of you. You have a foul mouth, a horrible personality; you're dangerous, cruel, fierce, and scary." I whispered as loud as I could. A devilish smile played on his lips as I listed his characteristics. "But when you saved my life, I began to see you in a new light, and also when you had gotten me out of class when I was breaking."

He smirked as I explained. "I loved it how you were always so scared of me." He said, a cruel smile playing on his lips as he leaned over me. His piercings shined as the light through the window hit them just right.

"You scared me into love." I murmured pulling him closer to me and planting a kiss on his lips.

**END**


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